Inverhuron Business Information Services Inc

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Place your tag flat on a horizontal surface, with the scanner held above it and pointing more or less straight down toward it. The edge of the tag should be at approximately a 45° angle to the scan line so that the scanner cannot read any bar codes. Position the barcode to be read directly under the scan line, and centred so that the bar code and scan line form an 'X'. Rotate the tag so the barcode and scan line are aligned with one another. You should hear the scanner beep and see the scan line vanish as the code is acquired.

By presenting the tag at an angle you prevent the scanner from reading any bar code until you have it positioned properly. By turning the tag to present the barcode properly once the scan line is centered over it, you ensure that particular bar code, and only that barcode, is the one the scanner reads.

Now you know how it works you can do it freehand without the benefit of a flat surface, and with the scanner positioned at more acute angles. This method can also be used with a handheld scanner by holding the scanner at an angle to the tag, and twisting the scanner after centering its scan line.

With a trigger operated scanner you will have to press the trigger to show the scan line. A triggerless scanner will begin showing the scan line as soon as it senses the presence of the tag.

Your serialised tag represents a discrete quantity of inventory. Whereas the 'Form' function allows you to alter the quantity being consumed, the 'Ship' function does not, and insists that the entire quantity be sent.

In order to dispose of only part of the quantity, you can use the 'Manual Tag' process:

1. Call up the tag by serial number.
2. Change the quantity to the number that will remain in inventory after the shipment.
3. Click 'Change' to update the tag.
4. Clear the serial number to blank.
5. Change the quantity to show what you will ship or sell.
6. Click 'Add New' to create a new serial number for this quantity.

Either print the new tag, or make a note of the new serial number so you can use it in the shipping process to create a document and remove it from inventory.

A variety of different situations present themselves depending on how you choose to operate the system.

You are using the whole coil in one step

This is the default mode of operation, where 100% of the coil will be consumed to create the number of standard bundles plus the odd lot bundle and any scrap.
Make sure the 'Percent Used' box is 100.
The 'Calculate' box should be empty.
If you do not supply a weight per tube then one will be calculated based on coil weight and production, and the yield will be 100%. If you do supply a standard weight per tube then the coil will be completely used and a yield will be calculated based on the ratio of tubing produced to coil consumed.

You are using only part of the coil

You can estimate a percentage of the coil used and enter it in the box, in which case the processing will be just like above except that only part of the coil will be used.
An alternative is to supply a weight per tube, and check the 'Calculate' box. The computer will calculate how much of the coil was consumed based on the weight of tubing produced.

You are using the last of the coil

Do this just like using the whole coil in one step as described above. Make sure the percentage used is 100 and the 'Calculate' box is unchecked. The entire remaining weight of the coil will be used to produce the quantity of tubing described.

I want to wipe out a coil remnant from inventory

Use the 'Manual Tag' process to change the quantity on hand to zero. Yield calculated on a coil or work order basis will be adversely affected if the coil quantity is manually altered rather than being used up within the 'Mill' process.

Let us assume a scenario by way of example to illustrate how this can be done. We have ten bundles of 54 pieces, each 288 inches long, and we want to cut them into bundles of 48 pieces, each 46.75 inches long. Each piece to be cut will yield 6 pieces, and each bundle to be cut will yield 4 and 1/2 bundles of 46.75 inch pieces. We are going to make a total of 800 pieces of this size, which will be 16 bundles of 48 pieces each, plus one bundle of 32 pieces.

We enter the data for the first bundle to cut

Assign a work order number for the entire cutting process.
Put in the serial number for the first bundle to cut.
The quantity to cut will be 54.
Put in the bundle size to be cut, which will be 48.
Put in the length of piece to be cut, which will be 46.75.
Put in the pieces per cut, which will be 6: each time you cut a 288 inch piece, you get 6 pieces 46.75 inches long plus a 7 inch piece that goes into scrap.
If you wanted to use the 7 inch pieces, then you could assign them a bundle size on the line below, with one piece per cut. A good bundle size would be 1000, which would allow you to simply accumulate the offcuts in a box and print an odd lot tag for the entire quantity at the end.

Make tags for the first cut bundle

When you 'Cut tube and make tags' for this bundle, several things will happen:
Four tags will print.
A serial number will appear on your first line, along with a piece count of 24.
The quantity of the original bundle being cut will drop to 0.
When you cut 54 pieces 288 inches long into 46.75 inch pieces you ended up with 216 pieces. Of these, 192 went to make 4 bundles of 48, for which tags were printed, and the balance of 24 were assigned to the unprinted tag waiting for you to make more to add to it before it gets printed.

Make tags for the next bundle

Put in the next serial to cut, and click the button at the bottom to cut and print tags.
This time you will get five tags, and there will be no part bundle left, since the 24 pieces from the previous cut and the 24 odd pieces from this cut go to make exactly one more bundle, hence five tags instead of four.

Make tags for another complete bundle

Put in the next serial number to cut and click the button. The result will be just like the first time.

Make tags for your last bundle

Put in the serial number to cut.
This time, change the quantity to cut at the top from 54 to 25. We have already cut 13 full bundles of 48, with 24 pieces left over, making a total of 648 pieces, so we need 152 more to make our 800 total. At 6 pieces per cut, we need to cut just over 25 pieces. We can cut a part piece, as we will see below, but for now we are using a cutting pattern for whole pieces, and we are only going to cut 25 whole pieces.
If you are making a tag for the 7 inch scrap, then mark the odd lot tag box on the line for the 7 inch scrap cut. Do not mark the odd lot tag box on the line for the 46.75 inch pieces.
When you cut tube and make tags this time, you will get three tags (four if you asked for a tag for the scrap) and will have 30 left as an odd lot.

Finish the job

To cut only part of a length, change the quantity to cut to 1.
If you have a line on the cutting pattern for the 7 inch scrap, then change its pieces per cut to 0.
Add a new line to the cutting pattern for the 2/3 of a length that will be left over. It will have a pieces per cut of 1 and a length of 194 inches.
Change the pieces per cut for the 46.75 inch line to 2.
Put a mark in the odd lot tag of the 46.75 inch line.
If you want to tag the 194 inch offcut, then also mark the odd lot tag box on its line. If you do not mark it, then a serial will still be produced for it and it will be in the inventory records, but it won't have a tag.
Cut tube and make tags.
You should get one tag for 32 pieces 46.75 inches long. If you marked the odd lot for the offcut then you will have a tag for it as well. You should have 28 pieces left in the final bundle that was being cut.

Several options are available to you depending upon the type of printer:

Your printer has an internal network interface:

1. Plug your printer into your LAN.
2. With reference to your printer manual, configure your printer with a static IP on your LAN.
3. Configure your firewall to pass through port 9100 to the internal fixed IP for your new printer. Note: any port can be used, but 91xx (ie. 9100, 9101, 9102 ...) is recommended: these ports are normally used for print services.
4. Call or email to inform us of the IP for your firewall and the port you are using for the printer. We will configure our system with an id for your new printer so your login can use it.

Your printer is a USB or serial printer:

1. You will need a compatible print server or alternately you can use a suitable printer port on your firewall. Many firewalls do not incorporate a printer port, but some do.
2. With reference to the manual for your print server (or firewall device), configure the print server (or firewall printer port) with a static IP.
3. Configure your firewall to pass port 9100 through to the fixed IP for your new printer.
4. Call or email to inform us of the IP for your firewall and the port you are using for the printer so we can configure our system.

Your printer is a parallel printer

• You can connect it using a print server (see above), OR
• You can try using the following experimental method:
  
  1. Connect your parallel printer to the printer port (LPT1:) on your computer.
  2. Install your printer as a generic, text only printer on LPT1:
  3. Call or email to inform us of the IP for your firewall and that you are using an attached parallel printer so we can configure our system for the new printer.
  4. The first time you print a barcode label through the system to your new printer you will be asked to accept a Java applet from IBIS Inc. In order to use your printer in this mode, you must trust and accept the applet.
  If you do not wish to trust the applet then you must use a print server instead.

We can assist you with configuration and handle all of the setup, provided that

1. You are able to configure your firewall to temporarily give us administrative access to it from our WAN IP.
2. Your firewall is one we are familiar with or for which we have adequate documentation available online.
3. Your network printer interface or your print server is one we are familiar with or for which we have adequate documentation available online.
4. You recognise and accept that these are billable service tasks.

If your firewall is administered by a third party, then if you introduce us by phone or email to your firewall administrator, we can detail the particulars of the firewall reconfiguration necessary to make your printer work.

We can usually remotely reconfigure your print server or networked printer to a static IP if you are unsure how to do it yourself, provided we have adequate access through your firewall for this purpose.

Configuration our system to interface to your first bar code printer is included in the setup fee for access to your space on our system. Any work involving configuration of your firewall, print server or networked printer, or advice on configuring your PC operating system to install a printer, or configuration on our system of additional printers beyond the first, is an extra and billable service.

If you have support contracts with third parties you are encouraged to make use of them in order to avoid being charged by us for overlapping services. There is no reason why you should pay twice, and we want you to avoid incurring unneccessary costs, but if you use our professional services to support your end of the network, then it seems only reasonable that we should be paid for providing those services.

Just scan or type the serial number into the box as though your were adding it to the shipment a second time. The computer will know it is already on the shipment, and will understand that you actually want to take it off, since adding it again is impossible. A message box will pop up to confirm that it has been removed.

Removing the line puts that serial number back into inventory. You can remove a line from the shipment at any time, except that a transfer which has been received cannot have any lines removed. Those serials have already been moved to the new inventory location by being received, and a serial cannot be located in two places at the same time.

Have a Question?

If your question is not on here and you have looked in vain for an answer in the manual, then please feel free to contact us with your question. We prefer email, but will also take phone calls.

Video Help

• The Basics - the screen, logging in, the menu
• The Files - file maintenance and coding your inventory
• Production - manufacture, make tags for your inventory
• Allocation - reserving inventory for your customers and factory